52 ON AND OFF THE A VENUE ^ RRIVING on n the heels of my recent scathing words about the cus- tom of showing fall clothes in July, J ay- Thorpe's invitation to a first viewing of early-fall fashions was a thing to give me pause. After all, the J ay- Thorpe people are no mere headline-chasers, and if they think a fall fashion show is something to give in July, it can only be because there are enough forehanded women around New York to make such an event worth the store's while. Anyway, you can now order your fall wardrobe, complete, at ] ay- Thorpe and have it off your mind, or you can just go up there and See enough of what's around the corner in fashions to give you plenty to mull over on long, idle afternoons by the seaside. Most of what I saw was reassuring. For one thing, if you are like me about shoulderc;, you will be pleased to learn that at J ay- Thorpe they are still building them out wide and flàt in that exaggerated line which is so kind to everything below it. Daytime skirts are narrow, and short enough to send you running to a good masseuse if your ankles aren't what they used to be, and dress necks, when they're high, wrap tight about the wish- bone, with flat folds and scroll businesses that call for jewels. You'll see lots of low-cut ones, though, that are new- er and give you that swan-throated look. l here's a new wrapped look, too, through the whole torso-an all-over tightness that wouldn't be possible with- out zippers and is going to make corsets a major wardrobe item. Some- times this swathing has an 1880 touch, but most of the time it is pure Egyp- tìan-mumm on account of a girdle pulled about the hips and then knotted high in front with long, swishing ends hanging down helow the skirt's edge. Evening things at Jay-Thorpe still run to tiny waists and tremendous skirts, most of them up-in-front. A black vel- vet picture dress with one of those heart- shaped décolletages has so high and wide an inverted V slashed upward from the hemline that you see every inch of the white lace dust ruffles sewed on inside, all around. A black taffeta, with noth- ing much on top except a huge bow sewed to one shoestring shoulder strap, has a 1914 overskirt that doesn't come together in front, the better to show the FEMININE FASHIONS tight, short black slip beneath it. One way or another, in any case, Jay-Thorpe manage to keep your legs in plain sight. I am afraid it really is a trend, this tlme. More news items occur in a gown which has four tiers of fringe swishing like mad about its tight skirt, but keeps you a perfect lady because it is gray and has little cap sleeves to cover the shoul- ders ( most of these evening things ha ve ); in a wool travel suit with a long coat (dull red, like the dress, on one side, plaid on the other ) which not only reverses but has a blue-fox collar that huddles up around the shoulders and comes off entirely when you don't want it; in a day dress of dull-surfaced black wool with black vel vet bands encircling the skirt, and sleeves sliced off just be- low the elbow; in a hobble-skirted res- taurant dress of black crêpe which is r- --ë. d - ..- ..... ...... --.-..,. ankle-length in back, hangs high in front above a limp flutter of black lace, and will make you look forty-five the minute you put it on; and in innumer- able gowns for full-dress that have their necks cut down in a deep oval to show the chest. S O now I have done my duty and can go back to topics which, in my stub- born, reactionary way, I like to think are timely. A sizable pile of them accu- mulated while I was off peering into the future. Peck & Peck, openly convinced the public interest in beach life has yet to reach its 1937 peak, has sent word of Sand-Skis, on which you whiz over the surface of the sands as if on snowshoes. They are really elongated sandals of cork, with bed-ticking uppers, and man- aging them should be child's play for any novice skier. Price, $6.50 a pair. Kleinert, the indomitable, has produced a rubber cap, called the Sa va-Wave, which is sup- posed to keep your crown as dryas a bone, despite pro- longed immersion. It has an inner band that really seems to do the trick all right in a bath- c::::J c:=> 1 1 l'-:-- ßfl:5> (;) . -.. STAT" . ((Buy a balloon qu'tck, somebody-for God's sake'"